City's Design Review Board takes up DI Publix expansion

Plans unanimously deferred after board determines more study is needed

Plans for the Publix expansion on Daniel Island were unanimously deferred by the City of Charleston’s Design Review Board at a public meeting on Monday, Oct. 16. Publix spokesperson Kimberly Reynolds announced last June that the grocery store would be nearly doubling its square footage with its enlarged footprint.

The biggest design issue for the board was that plans did not include enough windows. The current rendering calls for “display boxes” throughout the facade of the store, rather than real windows.

According to the Publix representative and architect present at the meeting, this is necessary because of the inner functions of the store.

“Putting in real windows disrupts the function of the store,” the representative stated. “Unfortunately, there is little space for transparency of the building because of freezers, display boards and storage. There are no plans to utilize real windows besides what is marked on the rendering.”

With the expansion, the architects also included plans in the rendering for a “park-like” design that can later be used for further expansions if needed. The board found the design overall “unsuccessful,” and felt that more could be done to connect the park with the surrounding area.

“Could the area be a spill-over into an outdoor cafe from the deli?” asked one of the board members. “There’s a better and more creative solution than what we are seeing and it will overall strengthen the project.”

Other reasons for deferral included a motion for a restudy of the building in a three-dimensional manner of how it is perceived from I-526 and the ground; a more honest application from the facade standpoint in terms of the hierarchy of design and how it relates to the surrounding area; a delineation of a strong point of entry; functionality between the relationship of internal and external design; a restudy of overall plant material; and finally a restudy of the park material and design.

There is no set time frame for the Publix plans to reappear before the DRB, noted City of Charleston Communications Coordinator Chloe Field. The developers will need to make the recommended changes, she stated, and come back once those are complete.

Initial estimates for construction anticipated completion sometime in 2018, although the current timeline is unknown. Plans call for expanding each of the fresh food departments and grocery aisles, as well as a larger selection of products and services. According to Reynolds, the store is expected to remain open during construction.

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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